REVIEW FORUM DISCUSSES TERM OF OFFICE FOR PREZ (PAGE 14, MAY 15, 2010)

THE term of office for the President came up for debate at a constitutional review forum in Suhum.
While some suggested that the President should be in office for five years, with a provision to serve an additional term, others were of the view that the present dispensation, which allows the nation’s chief executive to be in the seat for two consecutive terms of four years, must stay.
The forum, organised by the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), with support from the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District Assembly, to deliberate on various aspects of the 1992 Constitution, was attended by a cross-section of the public, including traditional rulers and assembly members.
Raising the issue at the well-attended forum, Mr Joshua Abbey, a tutor at the Presbyterian Senior High School in Suhum, said the President’s present four-year term was too short to enable him to push his agenda.
He argued that even if the President should serve an additional term, the total of eight years would not be sufficient to fully execute the agenda of his administration to fulfil promises made during the electioneering.
He, therefore, suggested a two five-year term for the country’s chief executive to make it possible for him to fulfil all electioneering promises.
While some of the subsequent speakers agreed with him, others called for the two four-year terms to stay, with the explanation that no meaningful achievement would be made in the additional two years after the President had spent eight years.
With regard to metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs), most of the participants were of the view that they should be appointed so that they would go by the development agenda of the ruling political party.
Those in favour of the election of MMDCEs said such political heads would place the interest of the people above that of the government in whatever they did, arguing that they would be bold not to implement any bad government policy without fear of being sacked from office.
Other issues tackled included the determination of the salaries and allowances of the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary and whether to separate the office of the Minister of Justice from that of the Attorney-General.
In an address, the Lead Research Counsel of the CRC, Mr Francis Obugo, said the process was to fashion out home-grown solutions to the country’s governance problems, adding that by the end of September this year people in all parts of the country would have had the opportunity to make contributions on all constitutional issues.
Welcoming the participants, the DCE for Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar, Mr Samuel Fleicher-Kwabi, expressed his appreciation to the CRC for organising the forum in the area and expressed the hope that the issues raised would be considered.